UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Down 1.3% After Analyst Downgrade

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shares fell 1.3% on Tuesday after Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on the stock from $640.00 to $510.00. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. UnitedHealth Group traded as low as $414.32 and last traded at $414.33. 1,920,429 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 4,481,536 shares. The stock had previously closed at $420.00.

UNH has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays decreased their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $642.00 to $560.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $525.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $540.00 target price (down from $635.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $664.00 to $563.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $490.00 target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $596.86.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 2,224 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,165,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP boosted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 902 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,304,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 575 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richwood Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $2,654,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 87.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.6 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $499.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $532.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $372.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.29 by ($0.09). UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The company had revenue of $109.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $111.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 EPS for the current year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. UnitedHealth Group’s payout ratio is 35.18%.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage.